The name of the man fatally shot by police this weekend at the notorious annual Caribbean Festival has been named.

Kevin Murray, 30, was allegedly robbing downtown partiers at gun point before the altercation between him and police erupted.

Reports say Murray was acting with another man who did not have a gun, and the two were intimidating and attempting to steal from people at the street festival.

When the police intervened, the unarmed man fled, and police told Murray to drop his weapon. Murray allegedly did not, choosing instead to keep his weapon, turn around and run away from police.

Murray died of gunshot wounds. An autopsy was conducted Monday and Regional Supervising Coroner Dirk Huyer said the Coroner’s office is continuing to look into his death.

Injuries were sustained by two other individuals but none are life-threatening.

Megan Martin, 21, was shot and underwent surgery for the wound. The Pickering, Ont. native is recovering in hospital.

Amit Boodram, 18, also sustained a gunshot wound. He was treated in hospital Saturday and released the next day.

The SIU is an arm’s length body that investigates all incidents in which a death, serious injury or allegation of sexual assault involves police.

It has designated two officers to the case and has so far interviewed 21 witnesses.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has any other information, photographs or video is urged to contact the SIU at 416-622-1806.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/name-of-man-shot-at-carbbean-festival-released/feed2stdPolice may have been involved as one killed in Caribbean Festival shootinghttp://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/one-killed-two-injured-in-caribbean-festival-shooting
http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/one-killed-two-injured-in-caribbean-festival-shooting#commentsSun, 31 Jul 2011 14:09:59 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=82649

One man is dead and a woman is in hospital after a Saturday night shooting at Toronto’s Caribbean Festival.

Just after 7 p.m., Toronto police officers responded to a “report of a disturbance” involving three men along the Caribbean Festival’s parade route Saturday night.

According to preliminary sources, a man in a striped shirt fired a handgun into a crowd following a brawl, hitting a man and a 22-year-old woman in a dancer’s costume. Nearby police reportedly drew their guns and shot the gunman after he refused to drop his weapon.

A 30-year-old man was taken by ambulance to Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The 22-year-old woman was in surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital on Sunday.

An 18-year-old bystander was taken to Toronto General Hospital after a bullet grazed his eyebrow.

As ambulances carrying the dead and wounded sped off the festival grounds, silver vehicles from the Ontario Special Investigations Unit began arriving. The unit is only called to the scene of a shooting if the police are suspected to have been involved.

“Officers interacted with the men and shots were fired,” said the SIU in a Sunday release.

Toronto police wouldn’t comment on the shooting, saying the matter has been handed over to the SIU. SIU spokesman Frank Phillips declined to comment on reports that one man had a handgun.

One witness said he heard six gunshots.

“People started screaming,” said Kosho Sato, who brought his three children down to the parade.

“People were screaming and running away.”

A YouTube video Sato captured just after the shooting shows a man, legs twisted, lying in the street surrounded by police and emergency workers trying to revive him.

A woman standing on the edge of the police line starts crying and has to be held up.

The SIU says their investigators have spoken with at least 14 eyewitnesses, but the magnitude of the crowd suggests more people saw what happened.

The name of the deceased man was not released Sunday morning pending notification of next of kin.

The Caribbean Festival, formerly known as Caribana, is the largest festival of its kind in North America. Due to a long history of violence, the festival often has a heavy police presence.

In 2009, two men visiting Toronto for the festival were shot, one fatally, in what police at the time described as a targeted attack. In 2005, a man was killed when shots were fired into a public square crowded with festival revelers. Four men were shot in 2003, and one killed in a 1996 shooting during the festival.

“Historically there are quite often incidents of violence at Caribana so we’re always on guard for anything,” said Christie. “You never know what’s going to happen anywhere. That’s just the way society has gone.”

With the long weekend approaching, store hours will vary because of the civic holiday on Monday, August 1, and the Scotiabank Carribbean Carnival will tie up some downtown streets. From celebrating Simcoe Day to basking in the a/c at the Eaton Centre, read below for details to plan your weekend.

Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto

Celebrate the 44th anniversary of the event formerly known as Caribana — an island-inspired festival in downtown Toronto with music, food and performances, plus a grand parade taking place on Sunday, July 31. Read on for road closures due to this event:

This Saturday, July 30, starting at 1 a.m. until Sunday, July 31, at 6 a.m., Lake Shore Boulevard West will be fully closed to both east- and- west-bound traffic from Strachan Avenue to Colborne Lodge Drive.

Kensington Pedestrian Sundays

The following streets will be closed on Sunday, July 31 from 12 noon to 7 p.m. for Pedestrian Sunday:

• Augusta Avenue, from Dundas Street West to College Street

• Kensington Avenue, from Dundas Street West to Baldwin Street

• Baldwin Street, from parking garage to Augusta Avenue

• St. Andrew Street, from parking garage to Kensington Avenue

TTC schedule

All TTC routes will operate ona Sunday service schedules, but will start earlier, at approximately 6 a.m.

Malls

The following malls will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday, August 1:

The Eaton Centre

Yorkdale Shopping Centre

Square One

Sherway Gardens

Scarborough Town Centre

LCBO

A select 350 LCBO stores will stay open for the civic holiday, Monday, August 1. To find a LCBO near you click here.

The festival formerly known as Caribana has been renamed the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto, organizers announced Wednesday morning. The festival had to change its name after Ontario Superior Court ruled the trademark belonged to one of the festival’s former organizers, the Caribana Arts Group.

The popular Caribbean festival was founded in 1967 by the Caribbean Cultural Committee. In 2006, after losing their funding for failing to provide appropriate financial statements, management was transferred to the Festival Management Committee. It was re-branded the Toronto Caribbean Carnival but continued to use the Caribana title.

Along with a new name, the organizers also unveiled the festival’s new logo, which centres around their title sponsor’s signature design.

This year’s festival launches July 14 and runs until Aug. 1. Organizers expect it to attract over a million visitors and to inject about half a billion dollars into the economy.

National Post

sbencharif@nationalpost.com

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/bye-bye-caribana-hello-scotiabank-caribbean-carnival-toronto/feed0stdPerformers dressed in "Mas" costumes dance at the official launch of the festival, Tuesday, July 14, 2009Court ruling forces Caribana to find new namehttp://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/court-ruling-forces-caribana-to-find-new-name
http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/court-ruling-forces-caribana-to-find-new-name#commentsTue, 17 May 2011 13:29:56 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=65058

Caribana will get a special present for its 44th birthday: A new moniker.

The mid-summer Caribbean festival must change its name following a ruling by the Ontario Superior Court last Thursday. The festival can no longer call itself Caribana because it is trademarked by a group that founded the event but no longer runs it.

In 2006, the city and province cut funding to Caribana after organizers failed to produce adequate financial statements. That year, the Caribbean Cultural Committee (CCC), which started the event in 1967, transferred control to the Festival Management Committee (FMC). After the transfer, the festival was officially called the Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

Chris Alexander, chief administrative officer of the Festival Management Committee, told the Toronto Star the FMC was given permission to use the Caribana name by Charlie Roach, then chair of the CCC.

But the court ruled the Caribana trademark belongs to the Caribana Arts Group, successor of the founding organization.

The festival’s current organizers plan to announce a new name next Wednesday.

This year’s festival runs July 14 to Aug. 1, and is expected to attract more than one million festival goers.

We met Marsha Sullivan last year at Nadine’s Hair Salon, a bustling studio at 1562 Eglinton Ave. W. in Little Jamaica that stays open all night on Caribana eve. “I’ll be here until five o’clock in the morning and down at the Lake Shore at 10, but I don’t mind,” Sullivan says. “I’m a party animal — Trini to the bone.” Sullivan, 33, is something of a Caribana expert — she’ll be in the parade again this year — and so we picked her brain for the ultimate insider’s guide to the 43rd running of North America’s largest Caribbean celebration of the year.
Where to stand
Saturday’s parade begins at Exhibition Place and dances west along the Lake Shore to Keele. It begins at 9 a.m., and Sullivan says the parade’s best spots are on the Lake Shore near Dufferin. “It gets crowded right in front of the Ex, but if you move just a little bit east, you can see everything,” she says. There’s paid seating inside the Ex, but Sullivan says if you arrive early, you’ll have no problem seeing the sites. “It’s never too early to party,” she says. “Get there at 10 a.m., and you’re good.”

Where to eat
While there are stands erected all along the parade route — including makeshift barbecues along the Lake Shore — Sullivan recommends the Ritz Café at 606 Yonge St. “Roti, curry, jerk chicken, oxtail, you name it, they have it all.” She also likes Albert’s Real Jamaican Food on Eglinton West and Raps, where original members of the Skatalites still hang out.

Where to rock
Say you’re inspired by the music and want to follow up on your new-found love of Calypso and Soca tunes: Sullivan recommends Play de Record (357 Yonge St.). “They have good mix CDs by local DJs, and the hottest DJ right now is Bad Lad from Scarborough.” Other popular musicians are Trinidad’s Machel Montano, the first Soca artist to sell out Madison Square Garden, and JW & Blaze, a Trinidadian group who will be performing at Caribana this year with the Tribal Knights.

Where to take the kids
Saturday’s parade is the weekend’s biggest event, but Sullivan says the real fun of the long weekend takes place Sunday and Monday on Toronto Island. “They serve authentic Caribbean food and music and there’s performances from all the bands in the parade,” she explains. Sullivan will be taking her daughter to the island both days. There’s also a Caribbean food festival at Ontario Place on Aug. 1 and 2.

Where to party
Tomorrow night, July 31, Wild Water Kingdom, at Finch and the 427, is the spot for the city’s biggest after-hours celebration. Featuring Farmer Nappy and Patrice Roberts, Sullivan says the park’s a great place for kids during the daytime, but at night it’s transformed. “Definitely leave the kids at home,” she advises. In addition, 10,000 people are expected Saturday at Downsview Park where there will be 25 different bands. “Everybody’s going to be there and there’s tons of food,” she says. “You know us Caribbean people love food.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/plan-of-attack-caribana-weekend/feed0stdWant to get this close to the Caribana parade? Be there by 10 a.m.!